MechChem Africa September-October 2023

⎪ Products and industry news ⎪

Low-cost igus energy chain for unsupported applications A new addition to the igus energy chain portfolio: the E4Q, a globally proven e chain for applications with large unsup ported lengths and high fill weight, now has a new L variant. Where the E4Q is too large, users can now save up to 20% with the new E4Q.64L, while still benefiting from the advantages such as quick and tool-free opening. “Depending on the width, the low-cost version of the energy chain costs be tween 15% and 20% less than the E4Q.” he says. To reduce costs, the side links are narrower than those of the E4Q, reduc ing the weight. The bionic design, which dispenses with any material that has no load-bearing function, was retained. "The stop-dog system was completely rethought, resulting in improved service life than predecessors. The E4Q.64L is

the first igus energy chain with three stop-dogs per chain link,” says Ziegler. “This ensures an even more regular pow er flow and a longer service life.” Tests in the igus test laboratory prove that the E4Q.64L has an approximately 30% greater breaking moment than the 14240 series, which is also used for un supported applications. This results in up to 20% more length with the same fill weight. www.igus.co.za

From the seventh robot axis in linear robot applications to machine tools, the igus E4Q-series energy chain has estab lished itself in recent years in demand ing applications with large unsupported lengths and high fill weights. There are two reasons for this. One is that the e chain's wide side links and four stop-dogs per chain link make it very robust. The other is that assembly time is reduced by up to 40%, because the cross bars can be opened in seconds, without tools and with just two fingers. The problem is that, in applications with medium loads the E4Q is over sized. “To offer users the advantages of the E4Q in these applications as well, and at a lower price, we developed the E4Q.64L,” says Christian Ziegler, head of e-chain product management at igus.

The new E4Q.64L shines in applications with medium loads, such as machine tools, and features high strength, long service life and low weight.

38 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2023